Interesting article - Uneven extraction in coffee brewing

DavecUK

talking about how grinding finer lowers extraction after a certain point. I should stress that they didn’t actually make any coffee, this paper is all based around modelling

https://pubs.aip.org/aip/pof/article/35/5/054110/2889071/Uneven-extraction-in-coffee-brewing.

The models were based around the results from the paper below d it the primary reference

https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385(19)30410-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2590238519304102%3Fshowall%3Dtrue#secsectitle01

After reading both papers, I am convinced that scientists should stick to science…but what o you think, especially of the second paper they are basing model assumptions on.

LMSC

Interesting articles for sure. Thanks!

Giphy -

Edit:

Jokes aside, there is a lot to digest. I am more confused after a quick read than before. Taste is relative and is the final benchmark; and, why bother about homogenous or otherwise water flow, optimal grinder, optimal EY, which we know as a range, and so on?

Unless I have missed, how much did the coffee shop spend (time and material) in experimenting PoC en-route to saving $3620?

MWJB

We’ve known & tested this for years, it’s only a story because Hendon & Cameron didn’t expect it & were surprised.

The second paper linked is the one that gave rise to the recent, ‘just fell to Earth with the last rain shower’ crowd’s fascination with turbo shots (formerly known as ‘shots’).

‘Coffee news’ really has a terrible habit of not being news at all.

hornbyben

I thought they were quite interesting reads. While the physics is quite complex, the advantage of this approach is that using mathematical models lets you better ask questions about what is going on. While it makes intuitive sense that if you grind finer at some point the fines start to block flow, without a model like this it’s hard to estimate how much of the coffee is being under extracted.

Thanks for sharing Dave

giampiero

The reason why so many “scientists” are getting involved in the coffee world….is probably because the scientific research does not pay enough, and probably speaking as a scientist to a bulk of “normal” people it make them look really skilled🤭

Cuprajake

Coffee has exploded since covid, people have realised how much money can be made from it and how much the public eat up ‘science’

Imo there are far better uses for science that finding out how coffee extracts,

DavecUK

Cuprajake Imo there are far better uses for science that finding out how coffee extracts,

I would wholeheartedly agree, although in this case it kept one set of modellers away from anything “important” which IMO is a benefit. 😁